roomiec

Another emphatic vote for the laundry package. We now travel with 1/2 the amount of clothes we used to bring. There's nothing like getting home with a suitcase full of clean clothes.

Our 12th WS cruise will be this October (Beijing-Hong Kong) and we always come away feeling like we were on a private charter.

Thanks New_Cruiser.

Enjoy your Alaskan adventure.

Hope to hear more.

Thanks New_Cruiser and Milepig.

Great news and what I was hoping to hear.

Our October cruise from Beijing-Hong Kong will be our 12th sailing with Windstar. We've been on all the ships, have loved every cruise we've taken, but the feedback here on the Forum regarding the Legend has frankly caught me by surprise.

Has anyone sailed on the Legend recently and can provide an honest opinion of your experience?

On what ship did you rebook?

HDWT...this is almost the exact situation we just experienced with Viking.

We were booked on the Oct 21 Beijing-Hong Kong and I noticed a new email from Viking with rates that were $1000 lower than what I had paid. Working with my TA, our response back from Viking was the same as yours...you're already booked, no discount available. I told my TA to cancel and rebook and, like you, was told

that would not be allowed.

Incredibly, my TA received a call with Viking reversing themselves. They would refund my deposit and accept a new reservation at the lower rate. I chose a bigger cabin at approx. what I was paying originally.

The irony of this whole experience is that I wound up cancelling Viking altogether and booking a Windstar cruise with basically the same itinerary(3 fewer days) at 1/2 the price.

Howard

Hello Kayakcove...we have booked the Oct 27 Beijing-Hong Kong just last week. We were originally booked on the Viking Orion for the relatively same itinerary 1 week earlier. After reviewing the Windstar info., we decided that 11 days onboard was enough and sailing with 212 was better than 950.

I also noticed that there were no excursions listed, but I called Windstar and was told they would be released as soon as contracts were signed.

This will be our 12th(or 13th?) cruise with Windstar and have been on the Star Legend before...and loved it.

We would love to contact others on this cruise and set-up some private tours.

Howard

We are planning on booking this cruise with the Xian -Bejing add on and possibly the Hong Kong pre stay.

I just set up a cruise specific roll call and maybe we can continue there.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2613559

Azdrydock...is your roll call for the Oct 7 sailing?

We are on the Oct 21 sailing.

I believe Wagnerite is correct.

Joel Barry...one other question.

You mention either the Marriott or the Intercontinental in Beijing. I've looked at both and prefer the Intercontinental. The Viking website says Marriott..or similar. Where did you see that the Intercontinental might be an option?

Joel Barry,

Drinks/dinner is a great idea!

Question regarding Air. Have you already booked your flights? If so, did you use Viking and did they honor the flights you requested?

We haven't booked yet...I'm trying to find the routes with the fewest hours in the air.

Howard

JoelBarry...we will do a pre-trip, just haven't decided whether we'll do it on our own. I've looked at a number of hotels(5 star with very reasonable rates)and it appears I can choose my hotel, and a private tour, for much less than going with Viking. Let me know if you have any interest.

Joel...we will be on the Oct 21 Beijing-Hong Kong. Are you on that one or the Oct 7?

We will be on the Viking Orion arriving in Beijing Oct19. We also are interested in a 1 or 2-day private tour.

Howard & Nancy

Joel Barry Brown...Which date are you sailing, 10/7 or 10/21?

We are booked for the 10/21.

Thanks, Erica.

Will post over there now.

We have just booked the Orion 10/21/18 Beijing-Hong Kong. This will be our first experience with Viking after cruising for many years with Windstar, Oceania and Silverseas.

I'm hoping that Cruise Critic will add a separate Roll Call for the Orion very soon.

Hi Jim,

Now that you've had a few days onboard, I'm wondering if you've experienced a couple of the negative things we did.

Both cabin mirrors are not what one would expect since they are dark. It makes the room appear dark and made it difficult for my wife to apply her make-up at night.

The other issue was our inability to spend any time at all in the Arts Cafe. It's a beautiful setting, but the smoke from the Cigar Lounge next door was overwhelming. Locating these 2 venues side-by-side was a very poor choice.

Jeff...you re-explained it perfectly, but one more bit of clarification. The airline offered me biz class seats but in 2 different rows on either side of the plane. They went on to say that additional seats(read "together") would be released 24 hrs before the flight.

That's what I'm counting on.

Seems to be a whole lotta' confusion. My post referred to SS booking my biz class ticket, not me. After providing me with the Record Locator Number, I went to each airline and selected my seats. All good...not quite. Checking back a few weeks later, I noticed I no longer had any seats on one leg of the journey.

This is when I called the airline and found out those seats were given to someone else ostensibly because it was outside of 60 days and SS hadn't yet paid for the tickets.

Lastly...the agent told me that 24 hrs prior to the flight, additional seats in biz class would be opened and I could select them then.

You're right, Lois. That 60-day window is important because that is when SS pays your airline for the tickets.

If you encounter a problem before that time(e.g. seat selection), it's possible that the airline will send you back to SS to remedy because the reservation hasn't been completed.

We're using the Business Class upgrade from SS traveling with Lufthansa and Iberia. Became complicated as to what airline to check with when we selected seats. Finally completed that task, only to check a few weeks later and find out my seats on one of the legs were "given away" to someone else. My TA went back to SS to complain with no success.

We'll be calling the airline 23 hours ahead of the flight departure to try and grab the Biz class seats released at that time.

ME...I have a question regarding reserving Dining dates and times on the website prior to sailing. We sail on July 15 so I wanted to make reservations before we board. I chose a restaurant for the first evening, and instead of a specific time(eg: 7PM), it gave me a 7-8PM choice. I assume I can go any time during that hour

Is that how it is if you book on board?

Thank You Marama for all the info. We will definitely follow your recommendations and be sure to be on deck for the sail in and out.

Hello Marama,

This will also be our first Silversea cruise. We'll be on the Muse and one of our stops will be your home port of Valletta.

Just wondering if you might share with us any of the "not to be missed" places.

Thanks!

We will be on The Muse next July and with 9 different dining options, I'm sure there will be some that do not require a jacket(which I will not be bringing).

Sailing the last 10 years with Oceania and Windstar has made us realize that "casual" is the way to go.